Donald Trump has said he hopes the US is “starting to see light at the end of the tunnel” after New York, at the epicentre of the country’s coronavirus outbreak, reported a dip in cases.
However, the president said the country will first reach an “horrific point” in terms of death as the virus nears its peak in the US this week after cases topped 330,000 on Sunday.
His optimistic comments came in stark contrast to those of US surgeon general Jerome Adams, who warned Americans to brace for levels of tragedy similar to the September 11 attacks and the bombing of Pearl Harbour in the week ahead.
New York state recorded 594 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday – compared to 630 the day before – but governor Andrew Cuomo said it was too soon to say whether the pandemic had reached its peak.
Chris Riotta reports:
Jared Kushner attacked as 'alt-right Pinocchio'
The president's son-in-law has been running his own team of coronavirus responders and would send ideas to the White House task force that distracted the members more than they helped, according to reports.
Coronavirus: New York faces ‘gruesome reality’ of burying dead in city parks
A member of New York's City Council said the city could consider "temporary interment" of coronavirus victims in the city's parks.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has said those plans are not in place. The city was “not at the point that we’re going to go into that.”
Oliver O'Connell reports:
Top health official warns against going to grocery store 'every day'
Brett Giroir, assistant secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, said on Monday that people should avoid running daily errands even if they live in regions of the US that have not yet seen a major outbreak of the novel virus.
“You really need to keep your contact with others and surfaces to a minimal,” the assistant health secretary, who serves on the White House coronavirus response task force, told NBC’s Today Show. “If you need to get groceries, do it, but don’t go every day to the grocery store like many people do, do it as infrequently as possible."
Chris Riotta reports:
Top health official warns against going to grocery store 'every day' as US coronavirus cases soar
The IndependentOfficial urges Americans to do 'anything you can do to protect yourself to avoid yourself from getting this virus'Joe Biden called for postponing the Democratic National Committee's nomination convention to August, the day before the party announced it was doing that. He also has called for a virtual convention, rather than endanger the massive crowds during the pandemic.
'White House considering US Treasury coronavirus bond'
Donald Trump's economic adviser Larry Kudlow has revealed White House advisers have been discussing the possibility of a coronavirus-related US Treasury bond.
Mr Kudlow said this is a time to sell bonds to raise cash for the coronavirus relief efforts and he thought a "war bond" was a great idea.
He told CNBC: "This would be a long-term investment into the future of American health, safety and the economy.
"From my standpoint, technical considerations aside, I think the concept is exactly right."
CVS ramps up drive-through coronavirus testing sites with faster kits
CVS Health Corp, called on by the Trump administration last month to help test Americans for infections from the new coronavirus, has said it is launching two offsite testing locations with Abbott Laboratories' faster diagnostic kit and will be able to handle 1,000 tests per day.
The two new drive-through Covid-19 testing sites in Georgia and Rhode Island will use the new Abbott tests, which can work in 15 minutes, and up to four more locations are expected to follow.
While more than 300,000 people in America have tested positive for Covid-19, officials believe a shortage of kits has under counted cases.
Testing, including at drive-through sites like these, is seen as a key component for US workers and restarting the economy as most states have ordered many non-essential businesses to close.
CVS chief medical officer Troy Brennan said the company expects to announce a third testing site in a different state on Tuesday and could launch up to three more sites after this.
A 66-year-old pastor and street musician who said media coverage of the coronavirus was overhyped died of the virus after travelling from Virginia to preach at Mardi Gras.
Pastor Landon Spradlin died at a hospital in North Carolina on Tuesday, after eight days in intensive care.
He was hospitalised having collapsed with pneumonia as he made the 900-mile return trip from Louisiana to Virginia.
UN chief calls for countries to tackle ‘horrifying’ domestic abuse surge
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres has called on governments to take urgent measures to tackle a "horrifying global surge" in domestic violence fuelled by worldwide lockdowns to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Calls to helplines have doubled or tripled in some countries amid increasing social and economic strains compounded by strict limits on movement, which have left many women isolated at home with abusive partners.
Mr Guterres called for all governments to make preventing violence against women a key part of their national response plans for Covid-19.
The UN secretary general said in a video: "For many women and girls, the threat [of violence] looms largest where they should be safest: in their own homes.”
He called on governments to create safe ways for women to seek support without alerting their abusers, including by setting up emergency warning systems in pharmacies and groceries - among the few places people are still allowed to visit.
US officials are bracing the country for a "peak death week" from the coronavirus pandemic as the accelerating American death toll closes the gap with Italy and Spain – the countries with the most fatalities to date.
Admiral Brett Giroir, a physician and a member of the White House coronavirus task force, told ABC’s Good Morning America programme: "It's going to be the peak hospitalization, peak ICU week and unfortunately, peak death week."
He raised particular alarm for New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Detroit, and reinforced the message from US surgeon general Jerome Adams who earlier warned this week will be the country’s “Pearl Harbour moment, our 9/11 moment”.
Roughly twice as many people a day are dying in the United States compared to Spain and Italy, according to Reuters.
The American death roll rose by 1,144 on Sunday, raising the total to 9,573.
The intelligence chief who alerted Congress to the whistleblower complaint that led to Donald Trump’s impeachment has said that the president fired him for doing his job.
Michael Atkinson said in a statement on Sunday that he was “disappointed and saddened” by the decision.
“It is hard not to think that the President’s loss of confidence in me derives from my having faithfully discharged my legal obligations as an independent and impartial Inspector General, and from my commitment to continue to do so,” said Mr Atkinson in a statement released on Sunday.
Inside New York’s coronavirus-only field hospital
Soldiers in camouflage and civilians in polo shirts lined up for a life-or-death battle: Keeping a potentially deadly microbe from overrunning this makeshift hospital inside a 2.1 million-sq ft convention centre within the densest, most populous city in America.
Coloured tape on the floor marked where to stand. Six feet. Six feet. Six feet. Proceed to the neon yellow box. Answer the soldier’s questions.
Jada Yuan describes life inside New York’s rapidly built Covid-19 hospital
Governors and activists are pleading for the government to make the country’s food stamp system more flexible during the coronavirus pandemic.
Buying groceries online is currently only open to those who receive food aid through the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in six US states.
But politicians are calling for the department of agriculture to make it more flexible and easier to access at a time when so many people are losing their jobs and turning to the government for support.
The calls have even come from conservative states where politicians have tried to reduce or limit food aid.
In Arizona, Republican governor Doug Ducey has asked the agency to waive interview requirements for applicants, allow families to purchase hot meals, waive work requirements for some and enact other changes that would help families deal with the economic fallout of the pandemic.
Food security advocates have recommended the government should go further and give states the freedom to adjust their programs.
Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer has been criticised for prioritising public arguments with Donald Trump over handling the coronavirus pandemic in her state, Gino Spocchia reports.
The Democrat, who has been tipped to become Joe Biden’s running-mate ahead of November’s election, was warned by local media this weekend that she could damage her party’s chances in the swing state.
In an op-ed published on Saturday, The Detroit News slammed Ms Whitmer for playing politics during the pandemic.
A four-year-old tiger at the Bronx Zoo has tested positive for coronavirus, likely the first case involving an animal in the US, Alex Woodward reports.
Nadia and six other big cats were symptomatic with a dry cough and were believed to have been infected by an asymptomatic member of the zoo staff.
The cat was tested "out of an abundance" of caution and the animals are reportedly doing well under veterinary care.
The Taliban has claimed the US is violating their peace deal in Afghanistan and warned of more violence if it continues.
The Taliban said they had restricted attacks against Afghan security forces to rural outposts, had not attacked international forces and had not attacked Afghan forces in cities or military installations.
But they warned of more violence if the US and the Afghan government continue the alleged violations.
US military spokesman Colonel Sonny Leggett denied the Taliban allegations, saying the US forces in Afghanistan have "upheld and continues to uphold the military terms of the US-TB [Taliban] agreement; any assertion otherwise is baseless."
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected offers from Washington for humanitarian assistance.
It is so far the most affected Middle Eastern country, with more than 58,000 people infected with Covid-19 and over 3,600 deaths.
Iranian authorities claim US sanctions have hampered their efforts to curb the outbreak, urging other countries and the United Nations to call on the US to lift them.
US denies diverting face masks headed for Germany
The US has denied any knowledge of a shipment of face masks bound for Germany after officials in Berlin accused the country of diverting it from an airport in Bangkok.
Berlin Secretary of Interior Andreas Geisel claimed an order of 200,000 masks bound for Germany had been "confiscated" in Bangkok and diverted to the US in an "act of modern piracy".
However Jillian Bonnardeaux, spokeswoman for the US embassy in Bangkok, told Reuters: "The United States government did not take any action to divert any 3M supplies that were destined to Germany nor did we have any knowledge of such a shipment.
"We remain concerned about pervasive attempts to divide international efforts through unsourced, unattributed disinformation campaigns."
A spokeswoman for 3M told Reuters the company had no evidence that its products had been seized.
